Tag: food addiction

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Benefits of a Carnivore Diet: Reversing Diseases and Disorders

For several years now, long before I found the carnivore diet – and even before discovering paleo, low carb, and keto – I have seemingly instinctively known that what we eat may be causing health issues. The whole food pyramid and ‘my plate’ graphics seemed off to me. I had no idea why at the time, and it took years of digging into various resources to finally understand that everything we have been taught about diet and nutrition is complete and utter bullshit.

For me, it started with my children’s diagnoses: one with Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, like me, which led me to researching gluten and sugar; one with ADHD, like me, which led me to the chemical additives in food; and one with epilepsy, which led me to learning about the keto diet. Now it has taken several years, but I have experimented with so many variations and seen so many improvements in my own health. So much information has come to light regarding root-cause and the reversal of diseases and disorders through the elimination of many different foods.

My Carnivore Healing Experience

Brain Fog

The very first thing I noticed when I cut out grains and sugar was mental clarity. I knew then that I was really on the right track. It’s an extremely scary thing to be mid-sentence, speaking to your boss or co-worker or customer, and completely lose the words and thoughts you’re trying to convey. Sure, everyone loses their train of thought once in a while. But this was more than that.

Brain fog is one of many side effects of Hashimoto’s Hypothyroidism. And it isn’t improved upon with medication. It didn’t matter what dose of levothyroxine my endocrinologist had me on, I could not effectively communicate. I was so scared that this was early onset Alzheimer’s or dementia! Come to learn, dementia is referred to as type 3 diabetes and I had been diagnosed as pre-diabetic at one point! More on that at a later date.

I noticed a marked improvement in my mental clarity once I greatly reduced my intake of grains and sugar. Even more so when I started removing all processed foods, including keto approved treats, and began eating only animal products. The elimination of the foods that were harming my body, and therefore my brain, and the increase of proteins and fat – yes, fat! – was the combination my body was quite literally dying for.

Eating Disorders

When we think of eating disorders, we often think of anorexia and bulimia. Those two seem to get all the attention. To a degree, they are almost glamorized. Binge eating disorder is more common than you’d think, and often leads to other eating disorders.

Food addiction and binging began for me at a very young age. I was maybe 4 or 5 years old and can remember sneaking food and hiding to eat it. By the time I was 12 I hated myself and my inability to control myself around food. I was 22 when I became anorexic and was bulimic at age 25. By 35 I regained the 112 pounds I had lost, plus an additional 50 pounds by binging again. Doing what we have always been told is necessary to lose weight, I tried calorie restriction, weight-loss programs, exercise…nothing worked. Until, that is, I stopped eating grains and sugar. Then, the weight began coming off. Dieting, calorie restriction, is disordered eating. Yet that is what we are told is necessary to lose weight.

I continued counting calories and trying to fit into a certain number of macros even while following the keto diet. I lost a lot of weight this way, but my brain was so overloaded and stressed out trying to track everything – and I was so hungry all the time! Now that I am a carnivore, none of that matters. I eat the animal products I want. Counting, tracking, and restricting is not necessary. Meat and fat fuel my body and my brain. I am well nourished and losing weight at the same time.

Insulin Resistance

I am not a medical professional, but I think I understand that insulin resistance is the disorder in which the body is producing insulin with little effect on glucose levels. Glucose levels remain high in the blood and cause type 2 diabetes, which is the need for additional insulin to help the body process the glucose in the blood. The body isn’t able to keep up with the demand. So rather than removing the foods that cause the glucose to rise, we take a pill or an injection.

My endocrinologist told me I was insulin resistant and pre-diabetic and handed me a prescription for metformin. That seems crazy to me. It’s like, if you’re allergic to peanuts, but you continue to eat peanuts and use an Epipen or take Benadryl to stop the symptoms, rather than just no longer eating the damn peanuts. This absolutely blows my mind!

Hirsutism, PCOS, & Hormone Imbalance

Receiving a diagnosis of Hashimoto’s, hirsutism, and PCOS came with prescriptions for each issue also. But I had to learn on my own what each of these things meant.

Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism is an autoimmune condition in which the body produces antibodies that fight off the hormones produced by your thyroid as if they are invading with malicious intent. When in reality, those hormones are necessary for your body’s daily functions – like…well, literally everything. Thyroid hormones are responsible for every cellular activity in your body. Hypothyroid means your body isn’t producing enough hormones. Hashimoto’s means no matter how much thyroid hormone your body is producing, your immune system is fighting those hormones off.

Hirsutism is a condition that causes women to have dark, whisker-like hairs growing on their face – like a beard. This is often caused by hormonal imbalances, like poly-cystic ovarian syndrome, aka PCOS.

PCOS is linked to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. See the pattern here? PCOS results in ovarian pain, bleeding, ruptures, infections, and infertility. Due to not having been diagnosed or treated for all of these issues until I had suffered for decades, my menstrual cycle stopped in my late 30s. Not that I missed it or wanted it back, but that is just not normal!

But, I’m happy to say that PCOS is not an issue anymore. My beard growth has dramatically slowed. And the hair on top of my heads has stopped falling out – another side effect of hypothyroidism, insulin resistance, and hormone imbalances. I attribute this to my body no longer having to try to deal with trying to process ridiculous amounts of carbs and having the much needed protein and fat to heal.

Anxiety, Depression, & Mood Disorders

Anxiety, depression, and wildly fluctuating moods are more symptoms related to everything that was wrong with me physically. I was malnourished even when I was obese. My whole body ached after the smallest household tasks and my brain was so cloudy. Adding more medication was not the answer. It couldn’t be! It was time to start removing things I was putting into my body.

Allow me to give you a recent example. Five months ago I had surgery to repair a small rotator cuff tear. During that time I lapsed back into keto, eating all the Rebel ice cream, because I had an owie and I deserved it, right? See, I’m not always the brightest bulb. And my sweet, loving, attentive husband will give me absolutely anything I ask for. It doesn’t matter if I tell him not to, under any circumstance, give into my request for sweet tastes. The moment I ask, he caves. Sweet tastes are my weakness. And I, apparently, am his. So while I claimed to be a carnivore, I was feeding my addiction, very literally, for sugar.

The fact that it wasn’t actual sugar doesn’t matter. It still lit up my brain’s dopamine response due to the sweet taste. And guess what! I became addicted to that f-ing ice cream! I ate an entire pint of it every single day. Sometimes two pints. It’s embarrassing.

Between the non-nutritive ingredients and being back on the addiction path, my mood tanked. Anxiety and depression were back. Did I ask my doctor for prescription to combat anxiety and depression? Hell no! I knew where I went wrong and I knew how to fix it. Of course it wasn’t easy. But there is no way I will every hand over my power again. That is exactly what some food does to me. It takes my power. When I eat only animal products, all the power is mine. I am in control.

Carnivore, Low Carb, and Keto Resources

So where do you find all the information I talked about? So many places. If social media and group support is what you need, I really recommend checking out The Steak and Butter Gang over on Mighty Networks. You can join here. There is so much love there, so much expert information and support. You won’t regret joining.

If you prefer books, here is a list that I cannot recommend enough. Many have audio versions as well.

Lies My Doctor Told Me by Ken Berry, MD

The Carnivore Cure by Judy Cho, NTP

The Carnivore Diet by Shawn Baker, MD

The Dietician’s Dilemma by Michelle Hurn, Registered Dietician

Check them out. Let me know what you think. As always, thank you for taking the time to read my little posts. I truly appreciate it!

xoxo

~ The Candid Carnivore

PS: Link disclaimer – I am an Amazon Associate and while there is never any additional cost to you if you purchase via these links, I may receive a tiny commission from Amazon. For the Steak and Butter Gang link, I receive no compensation to promote this group. The coaches and members just bring me joy, so I like to share and invite others to join.

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Food Addiction is a Bitch

Addiction is painful, no matter what the drug happens to be.

Food to Mask the Pain

What is comfort food? Does it truly bring comfort? Or does it bring more pain?

If we are talking about the traditional comfort foods, most of us think of cookies, ice cream, cake, macaroni & cheese, maybe pizza and other foods high in carbohydrates. There is a very scientific reason that we feel comfort when eating those types of food. People much smarter than I can explain all of that in detail and do so with absolute authority. But I can tell you that I have learned from those very smart people, and from my own experience, that these foods contain high amounts of carbs. Carbs turn to sugar in our bodies. Sugar creates a chemical response in our bodies and in our brains that trigger a dopamine response. It’s something very similar to getting high and that feeling, in turn, creates an addiction. Sweet taste is several times more addictive than cocaine. Read that again – sweet taste. is several times more addictive. than COCAINE! What? We give these foods to our children! We are literally raising addicts just by feeding them foods from our local grocery stores. (click here to read one study using artificial sweetener and cocaine, as an example – there are several articles on the matter, just search for yourself! Intense Sweetness Surpasses Cocaine Reward (nih.gov)) 

There is sugar, in some form, in most processed foods. I dare you to grab any food item in your kitchen with an ingredient label – guaranteed there is at least one form of sugar in that item. Maybe more. Sugar has over 50 different names, and food manufacturers will try to fool you as often as possible. 

You hear a lot of people say they are an ’emotional eater’, meaning when they are sad, stressed, angry, happy, or any strong emotion, they turn to food. Rather than allowing themselves to feel that emotion, they distract themselves or use the food to cope or celebrate. Doesn’t that sound very similar to how a person with an addiction would respond? In my statement above, replace the phrase, “…they turn to food.” with “…they turn to alcohol.” Or a specific drug. Even when someone says they reward themselves with chocolate or some other food, isn’t that the same as saying they reward themselves with a drink or drug use? 

The Culture of Food as a Drug

This behavior is something many of us are taught in childhood. A good-intentioned adult wants to fix what is bothering the child, or distract them from crying, by giving them a treat. This creates a dependency very early in life! Rather than being taught how to cope with or regulate emotions, children are often taught to just cover it up or use some substance, which may start out as sugar or carbs, to create a flood of dopamine in the brain that gives us that feeling of comfort. Maybe, just maybe, this is the beginning of what predisposes a person for drug or alcohol abuse? It makes sense to me. Eating becomes something that is tied to emotions, whether we are eating to celebrate or to mourn. The chemistry of the food creates such an intense reaction in the body that it mimics emotion or masks it. Processed food, carbs, and sweet tastes (yes, even your diet soda and keto sweeteners) give us that dopamine hit that is so strong that real joy and happiness can’t compete. Is this a cause of depression? 

The problem is that – and I am not saying it is as simple as this – while lifestyle changes can be made to avoid drugs and alcohol, you can’t avoid food. You can avoid certain foods and ingredients, but it is SO difficult when family gatherings, social functions, and even office meetings often revolve around the very types of food you are trying to avoid. You hear things like, ‘oh come on live a little’, ‘one cupcake won’t kill you’, ‘you deserve a treat’….Would those food-pushers say to an alcoholic, ‘one shot won’t kill you’, or ‘it’s a celebration, how are you not going to drink?’ But most people don’t understand, because we need food to live, that sugar and processed foods are addictive. 

Nutrition is the Key

I, and I think many others can attest to this, have found that eating only animal foods reduces or eliminates the addiction to sugar and carbs. Why is this important? Sugar and carbs are not what our bodies were designed to thrive on. The over-consumption of these foods creates constant insulin response, which affects our mood and emotional regulation. Without the constant dips and spikes in blood glucose, and therefore insulin, my mood is fairly constant. I don’t crave that dopamine release that food used to give me. 

So do comfort foods really bring comfort, or do they replace true emotions with dopamine, thereby eliminating the processing of emotions and perpetuating the trauma, never allowing the healing or the development of coping skills? In my opinion, processed foods, carbs, and sugar do damage to our bodies and our minds. I know in my healing mission, my body feels so much better. But the healing I have experienced within my mind and my emotions is the most valuable result so far. 

Feel free to comment or ask questions about my experiences and let me know if there is any way I can help you on your own healing mission!

xoxo

~ The Candid CarnivoreShareLabels: carnivorecomfort foodcommunitydietdisordered eatingdopamineemotional healthfood addictfood addictionmental healthsugar addiction

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CARNIVORE MISSION: FOOD ADDICTION AND RESTRICTION, WITH A DASH OF HASHIMOTO’S AND A SIDE OF SHAME

Food Addiction and Obesity in Childhood:

I have been addicted to food since I was a kid. I have binged on everything from sliced bread to uncooked hot dogs. One of my earliest memories of feeling shame came from sneaking yet another handful of little chocolates that my dad had brought home and my mom calling me a glutton when she discovered me stuffing them into my mouth while hiding behind my toy box. I remember asking her what that word meant and that feeling when she told me. I was about 5 years old, maybe 4. 

I felt shame, but it didn’t stop me. Rather I think it defined me in my mind. I was the fat kid. Shopping with my grandmother in the boys’ ‘husky’ section of Sears as a girl in 1st grade was humiliating, but I had no concept of diet. My next shameful moment, at about 8 years old, came when my grandfather had bought me a bag of Reese’s Pieces. We were going to go fishing after he closed up his shop, and he told me not to open that bag. That was a treat for later. I insisted I would not open them, thinking to myself how I didn’t even really like Reese’s Pieces. No sooner than he left the room, I opened and devoured the entire bag. Within 5 minutes, he returned and expressed his disbelief and disgust. I literally ate anything and everything that I wanted and would constantly search cupboards for food when I was not even hungry. The food was filling a void that I did not understand at the time. I could go on and on with memories of feeling that shame related to my binging. Maybe I’ll share those another time. 

When I was around 12 years old, my mom said she would buy me some workout clothes if I promised to exercise. You know, the shiny, colorful leotards with the matching headband and leg warmers from the 80s. Yeah, that must have been a sight! But she bought them for me. And that was it. I didn’t keep my end of the deal. I had no idea HOW. Like, ok thanks. I have this outfit, but how exactly do I exercise? No one ever showed me or encouraged me, so I didn’t do it. 

Now, was this all due to the failing of the adults in my life for not putting any restrictions in place or teaching me how to eat properly? Was this something broken in my brain? Dopamine deficiency? I can say with 100% certainty that I did not have a typical childhood. I was born to teen parents. My mother had severe mental and emotional trauma of her own. I’d be willing to bet that it was a perfect storm of a lot of things. 

I’ll skip over the teen years for now. Just know that there was a lot of destructive behavior and I truly believe I’m lucky to have made it through that period alive. 

Anorexia & Bulimia:

As I continued with binging into my 20s, it finally hit me. I was in my apartment searching for loose change so that I could go buy some snack cakes when I realized that I did not have control of my own actions. I felt possessed! It finally occurred to me that I wasn’t really consciously making this decision. I felt an overwhelming urge, but not a thought process. It was as if I had held my breath for too long and felt the overwhelming urge to take a deep breath. You don’t tell yourself constantly, ‘breathe in, ok now breathe out, breathe in…’. You just do it. That’s what eating was like. Mindless, compulsory binging. That revelation didn’t stop me, though and disordered eating from one end of the spectrum to the other consumed my life for more than two decades. 

Around the age of 22, and at approximately 230lbs after giving birth to my first child, I went to the other extreme. I became obsessed with staying under 20 grams of fat. I cheated, though. I rounded up. If something had 3 grams of fat, I counted it as 5. I kept a running tally in my head all day, counting and re-counting obsessively, and then rounding up that number as well. So, when I may very well have had only 7 grams of fat for the day, I was counting it as 20 grams. I lost a lot of weight very, very quickly. There were days when all I had eaten was a small bag of pretzels from the vending machine, a diet Mt Dew, and a bag of light microwave popcorn for dinner. Snackwell cookies and ‘yogurt’, Tootsie Rolls, or Twizzler Nibs were eaten as an additional ‘meal’ now and then. I worked in retail at the time, so I was on my feet, racing around all day. It definitely was not enough food. My manager at the time was extremely worried about me. She pulled me aside one day, almost in tears. Which was really strange because she was a tough lady. Most of my coworkers were a little afraid of her because she was strict and didn’t put up with anyone’s shit. But that day, she told me about her niece who had passed away from complications of anorexia. She saw similar behavior in me. I thought she was crazy, of course. “I eat, Pat. I promise I do!”. I wasn’t lying, really. Or at least that’s what I convinced myself. I was very skinny – and very sick. My cycle had always been irregular, very heavy and very painful. But now it was very light and short. I had blood in my urine at times. I would get extremely sick and vomit at random times. I began over-exercising, teaching 9 – 11 cardio kickboxing classes per week, plus working out at home. I fractured both of my legs due to malnutrition and over-use. But I had lost 112lbs, so I wasn’t about to stop. I maintained my weight at 118lbs for a few years and through another pregnancy. I even kept that weight, or there about, through a seriously abusive marriage, divorce, and into another abusive marriage. But after the birth of my third child, I lost control. The weight crept back up through my second divorce and continued beyond that 230lb mark. 

For Weight Loss, Eat Less Move More…Yeah, Fuck That:

By my late 30s – early 40s I was finally over this shit. I did not want to just exist as a fat lump. I missed out on so much with my kids because I was just so tired all the time. Dusting the living room would wipe me out. My muscles and joints ached, and I could not do any more. After just dusting! 

My youngest had been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Hypothyroidism at the age of 8. Her antibodies were in the hundreds, she had so many digestive issues and had so much inflammation at such a young age. I did a little research, put her on a gluten free diet and – WOW – what a difference that made for her! So I went to my family doctor and asked if this could possibly be my issue as well. He begrudgingly ordered a blood test for my TSH level and antibodies. TSH is the thyroid stimulating hormone and the presence of antibodies mean the body is attacking that particular part of itself. The result was a TSH of 5.5 and antibodies around 180. He told me that my TSH was in the normal range and never mentioned anything about the antibodies. At the time I didn’t even know he included antibodies in the lab work. I argued that my TSH was at the very high end of normal, so couldn’t my symptoms be due to that? He laughed at me. He LAUGHED at me. HE LAUGHED AT ME, and said, “Everyone would like to blame being overweight on thyroid issues, but that’s not your problem”, and he refused to look any further

Bullshit. I called an endocrinologist on my own and told them my TSH results and the experience I had with my doctor, and they brought me in for an appointment immediately. I never went back to that arrogant ‘doctor’. I was put on thyroid medication and also began taking a weight loss/food addiction drug. 

That experience taught me how to advocate for my children’s health and for my own. I researched everything I could before any appointment after that. That research led me to paleo – which helped a lot. That led me to low carb – which helped even more. Which led me to keto – which helped even more, BUT I began to get bogged down in the counting and tracking macros, and keto ‘treats’, and the expense of trying to make SAD foods (SAD = Standard American Diet) into keto-approved versions. Freaking exhausting! Between keto, calorie restriction (1200 calories a day), and the weight loss drug, I was down to 140lbs, working out, and feeling amazing. But I was SO. Freaking. Tired of tracking every single thing and calculating. UGH! Then, I found Dr. Ken Berry, and Neisha Berry, and Kelly Hogan, and Dr. Shawn Baker, and Steak and Butter Gal, and all the wonderful, amazing, brilliant others who have taught me so much! And now I belong to a community where I am supported and encouraged to EAT as much carnivore food as I possibly can to heal my hunger hormones and my thyroid. But it’s also healing my mind, my outlook, my everything. I have gained a lot of weight back doing this. I don’t even care. I feel so good, and I know it will come off again once my body has healed from all the trauma I have put it though. There’s no rush. I’m living now – not just existing. 

So here I am, about to turn 50, and I finally figured it out! I stopped the weight loss medication and I’m happily eating about 3,000 calories a day at the moment. Meat is healing me. I don’t eat any plants, I don’t eat any sugar or processed foods, I don’t use any sweeteners. I eat meat, butter, and eggs. I’m ridiculously happy and energetic, my mind is clear and focused, I do not crave carbs, I have no food addiction issues, and my sleep quality is incredible. From mindlessly eating as though possessed to being able to be around people who are eating pizza and ice cream, and just be able to say, ‘wow that smells good,’ and not be compelled to eat it…. that is nothing short of a miracle. 

More on the whole thyroid, wight loss drug, and some other medications I have had to take in the next post. Hint – I was pre-diabetic, insulin resistant, and could almost grow a beard in 12 hours. True story!

If you managed to get through this ‘short post’ – thank you! While I’m writing mostly for myself, to work through some things, I hope you come back again and that I can help others who may have endured these things in some way. 

xoxo

~ The Candid Carnivore